The offspring of their father King George VI’s siblings then follow. There are more than 60 living people descended from his father King George V, who died in 1936.

Only people descended from Sophia of Hanover can inherit the throne, according to the 1701 Act of Settlement.

The monarchy’s website goes down as far as Zara Tindall, though some counts list more than 5,700 living descendants of Sophia, including Roman Catholics, who cannot inherit.

The highest excluded person is 26-year-old Edward Windsor, Lord Downpatrick, a first cousin twice removed of the queen, who converted to Catholicism. He would otherwise be 37th in line after the new baby is born.

In changes to the succession laws which came into effect in 2015, males born after October 28, 2011, no longer take precedence over their older sisters.

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